A prominent expert warned that Hezbollah may resort to international terrorism after the killing of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
The Lebanese armed group, which has a long-standing presence in Canada, lost several of its leaders in recent Israeli airstrikes.
Matthew Levitt, author of “Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Hezbollah,” said its headquarters were destroyed last week, and “they’re in a state of disarray.”
“One concern is that if the group is less able to carry out cross-border attacks, it may resort to increased acts of international terrorism,” Levitt said in an interview.
“Another concern is that supporters around the world, angered by the loss of Nasrallah, could carry out attacks of their own.”
The collapse of the powerful Iranian-backed militant group will also be felt in Canada, where Hezbollah has been active since the 1990s.
Members of Hezbollah’s global network have lost their lines of communication and are likely to be frightened given Israel’s actions, said former intelligence officer Andrew Kirsch.
The former Canadian Security Intelligence Service officer said Hezbollah supporters might “take matters into their own hands.”
But he said Canadian police are “on high alert.”
Hezbollah was formed in 1982, inspired by the Iranian revolution, in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and has been in conflict with its southern neighbor ever since.
With the support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah has become what the Canadian government calls “one of the most technically capable terrorist groups in the world.”
It has also developed a global network to mobilize supporters and carry out attacks around the world.
Canadian Hezbollah members participated in several attacks. They include a Vancouver man Wanted in connection with a bus bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli tourists and a local driver.
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Another, a former Toronto grocer Fawzi AyoubHe was a plane hijacker and member of Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad unit and was killed in action in Syria in 2014.
Although Hezbollah has not carried out any attacks in Canada, an operative was captured in 2017 gathering details about security at Toronto’s Pearson Airport.
Hezbollah wanted to be prepared “in case there was a problem with Canada,” as one of its members, Muhammad Hussein al-Husseini, told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the early 1990s.
But Canada was mostly a “facilitation and fundraising hub” for the terrorist group, according to a 2020 report by the government’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre.
While Iran provides much of the funding and weapons to Hezbollah, it also relies on “many material supporters,” according to Canada’s Financial Transactions Analysis and Reporting Centre.
“These individuals operate in numerous countries inside and outside the Middle East, including Canada,” FINTRAC he wrote in the 2018 report.
“In many cases, these individuals are not directly linked to the official structures of Hezbollah, and operate successful companies that engage in legitimate business activity. However, some of the resources generated by these companies are ultimately diverted to support Hezbollah’s official activities.
Hezbollah also has “an international network of charities, non-profits and other organizations sympathetic to its cause.” “These organizations are in countries all over the world, again including Canada.”
With the exception of ISIS, Hezbollah was the terrorist group most frequently identified through FINTRAC’s monitoring of money flows, with a significant portion of the funds going to Lebanon.
“Money suspected of financing Hezbollah is frequently sent or received by individuals/entities related to the sale of cars or involved in the automotive industry.” “Vintrak wrote In 2022.
The group also used Canada to purchase equipment. In Vancouver, CSIS investigated a cell that was purchasing night vision goggles and other equipment for a Hezbollah purchasing agent in Lebanon.
“Hezbollah has long maintained a particularly active procurement effort in Canada,” Levitt, a former US counterterrorism official, wrote in his book about Hezbollah.
“Not only does the group have a large community of members, supporters and sympathizers in Canada, but the country’s strong position in industry, trade and finance makes it an attractive place to purchase dual-use items.”
Israel launched its latest attack against Hezbollah on September 17, when it detonated explosives planted inside thousands of pagers that were distributed to its members.
This was followed by a series of air strikes targeting Hezbollah’s leadership in southern Lebanon and Beirut. Nasrallah’s death was confirmed on Saturday.
The Israeli government has defended its actions as a defense against Hezbollah rockets, which have increased since the Hamas attack on October 7, which led to the evacuation of parts of northern Israel.
The Toronto Police Service did not say whether it had increased security measures in the city in response to Nasrallah’s killing.
But a police spokesman said the police force is “continuously monitoring global events and their potential impact on our communities”.
“Although we do not comment on specific security measures, we remain in close contact with our community partners and will increase our presence when necessary to ensure public safety.”
Kirsch said police are already monitoring closely for potential threats to Canada’s Jewish community, which has been targeted repeatedly over the past year, with attacks on schools and other institutions in British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario.
“They are very understanding of the concerns of the Jewish community,” he said of the police.
“With the October 7th anniversary coming up, as this continues, with the escalation in parts of the Middle East, I think everyone is on edge.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
